SAMBO in the USA: National Championship and Memorandum of Cooperation with the Sambo Association of Uzbekistan

The US National and Open SAMBO Championships were held on April 8 at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. More than 80 sambists from different states of the country took part in the national championship: California, Texas, North Carolina, Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Within the framework of the open tournament, competitions were held with the participation of representatives of Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

According to the information of the National SAMBO Federation, competitions were held in all official age and weight categories, both in Sport SAMBO and in Combat SAMBO.

“The main objective of the championships was to select athletes for participation in international competitions in 2023. In addition, thanks to the open tournament within the framework of the championship, many American sambists got the opportunity to test their strength in bouts with representatives of other countries. And, of course, the tournament is of great importance for the promotion and development of SAMBO in the USA, which will allow increasing the audience of fans of this sport,” said the 1st Vice President of the National SAMBO Federation – USA Sambo Inc. – Mikhail Kozitsky.

On the eve of the championships, a referee seminar was held in New York under the guidance of the very experienced specialist Mikhail Zhidelev. The event was attended by newcomers to the national refereeing corps, among whom were both former participants in international SAMBO tournaments and athletes with little experience in competing.

“According to the results of the seminar, we have identified a pool of specialists to work at national level competitions, and also a candidate was selected to participate in the international referee seminar in Israel. I want to express my gratitude to Felix Sverdlin, the owner and head coach of the Judo, Sambo Center club, who kindly provided his hall for this important event for us,” said Mikhail Kozitsky.

The President of the Sambo Association of Uzbekistan Alisher Alimov, who arrived in the United States at the invitation of USA Sambo Inc., became the guest of honor of the USA SAMBO Championships. He was present at the competitions, took part in the awards ceremony and delivered a speech to all the champions and prize-winners of the tournament.

“As part of this friendly visit, we were able to discuss a number of issues on the possibilities of joint work and interaction in various areas for the development of SAMBO. The result of such agreements was the signing of a memorandum on bilateral cooperation, mutual assistance and the development of SAMBO in our countries,” said Mikhail Kozitsky.

The document was signed at the office of the US National SAMBO Federation. The ceremony was attended by the President of the Sambo Association of Uzbekistan Alisher Alimov, 1st Vice-President of the USA Sambo Inc. Mikhail Kozitsky and member of the Executive Committee of USA Sambo Inc. Eric Reis.

Athletes, coaches and referees who took part in the US SAMBO Championships supported the International Day of Sports for Development and Peace (IDSDP), as well as the global #WhiteCard digital campaign, which celebrates the power of sport for a better world. Together they took a group photo in support of this initiative, which celebrates the power of sport as a driver of social change.

Photo: Alan Clarinet